660 Items Tagged

Books

Castillo de Zafra, one of many picturesque shooting locations for HBO's Game of Thrones

The Visual Heritage of Westeros

Sigils have a long history in the land of ice and fire.

Baghdad mosque houses Saddam's blood Quran.

Saddam Hussein's Blood Quran

A 605-page Quran penned in the blood of a dictator is locked away in a mosque.

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence Athenaeum

A 19th century library favored by Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft, known by locals as "the Ath."

Following in the footsteps of Hemingway and Fitzgerald.

Harry's New York Bar

A favorite Paris bar for U.S. expats, including Gershwin, Hemingway, and James Bond.

While not a real psychological illness, book collectors and bibliophiles described "bibliomania" as a medical condition.

Bibliomania, the Dark Desire For Books That Infected Europe in the 1800s

Book lovers and collectors feared becoming a victim of the pseudo-illness.

Lauren Young December 2, 2016

The Chap Record, in which women would record their reviews of gentlemen suitors.

objects of intrigue

Chap Records Were Basically Yelp for 1900s Eligible Bachelorettes

The books helped women keep track of—and review—their suitors.

Rick Paulas December 1, 2016

Corpus Hermeticum: first edition, by Marsilio Ficino, 1471 CE, at the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, Amsterdam.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica (Ritman Library)

This impressive collection of rare books on ancient mysticism inspired author Dan Brown.

Anne Rice, author of the acclaimed <em>The Vampire Chronicles</em>

Anne Rice Talks Inspiration, Atlantis, and, Yes, Vampires

An interview with the famed author ahead of the release of her upcoming novel "Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis."

Mariana Zapata November 18, 2016

Manchester, England

Portico Library and Gallery

A 19th-century time capsule of travel, fiction, and historic texts still available to the public.

Children's books.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Lied to You As a Child

Do children's books need to be fact-checked to make them more true to nature?

Cara Giaimo November 16, 2016

Scribes often penned dramatic curses at the beginning or end of books in the Middle Ages.

Protect Your Library the Medieval Way, With Horrifying Book Curses

Medieval scribes protected their work by threatening death—or worse.

Sarah Laskow November 9, 2016

A London book distributor reads the sequel to Fanny Hill during the book's 1964 obscenity trial in the UK.

The 200-Year Old Book That Sent the East Coast Into a Sex Panic

New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York all held obscenity trials.

Arianna Rebolini November 7, 2016

Typical items in an 18th-century kitchen.

In the 1800s, Sick People Would Consult Cookbooks Before Doctors

Need to bake a pie AND cure consumption?

Lauren Young October 28, 2016

Permanently Closed

Brazenhead, resurrected

New York, New York

Brazenhead Books

A legendary speakeasy bookstore returns from the brink.

How I Found the 4 Hardest-to-Find Bookstores in the World

And, also, illustrated them.

Bob Eckstein October 4, 2016

Spider monkeys from a fore-edge painting on The Natural History of Monkeys (1838)

Lovely Hidden Paintings Adorned the Edges of Historic Books

Fore-edge paintings. Just look at them!

Eric Grundhauser September 29, 2016

The First Encyclopedia by a Woman Contains The First Image of a Pretzel

In the 12th century, pretzels were for kings apparently.

Eric Grundhauser September 27, 2016

Watch a Book Being Made the Old-Fashioned Way

Slowly, and by hand.

Tao Tao Holmes September 20, 2016